In the Long Run

My friend and I were shocked by the gaunt, shrunken face of the woman sleeping in the hospital bed. Just two weeks earlier when we had been there, this same woman, Ruth, had alertly asked us to bring her some Taco Bell tacos (“hard shells, please…I don’t like those soft tortillas…and no lettuce!”) because she didn’t like the food served at the care center in which she resided.

Now here she was, after a rapid decline, just hours from death. Although Ruth had not been a close friend, she was an acquaintance with whom I had visited from time to time, and had tried to support during a difficult period of her life that had included the death of a close family member and several operations.

I was not surprised to hear that Ruth passed away the next day. Later, I visited with her adult children, whom I had never met before. I had volunteered to help them write the eulogy for her funeral. The family enjoyed the time together, sharing memories and anecdotes, both humorous and sublime. Writing the eulogy was not an easy task. A few short paragraphs seem paltry when trying to summarize a person’s character, courage, and eclectic interests.

The responsibilities I’ve faced incident to Ruth’s passing have caused me to contemplate life and death, gratification and regrets, and the difference between vital, important life events, and superficial, transitory experiences. It seemed appropriate that today was a sunny Easter morning. The glorious message of the atonement and resurrection are especially poignant and clear to me: “I know that my Redeemer lives! He lives, my Savior, still the same.”

Posted by Cyppy at 10:59 PM